Environment

From now through November 2008, P.O.V's Why Vote site will examine some of the important issues being debated in this election year through the lens of documentary films. Here are some highlights from the P.O.V. library and beyond.

More About Every Third Bite from the Meerkat Media Collective Two years ago, honeybees started to disappear. About one in every three colonies left their hives but never came home. We set out to discover what was plaguing these hives and learned how non-commercial beekeepers care for and keep healthy bees alive. Bees are responsible for pollinating every third bite of food we eat. And we are losing millions of bees each year to a mysterious disease known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). We visited beekeepers in Manhattan, Long Island, Nantucket and Chicago, and interviewed a scientist and elementary school students all to get a better understanding of this phenomenon. But along way, we discovered that with proper care and nutrition, bees can stay healthy and their honey can help us stay healthy and allergy free. Since production of the film, CCD has been linked to a virus but studies continue to show that the mystery is far from solved. Community apiaries and non-commercial beekeeping is becoming increasingly popular. Legislation about keeping hives may be pending.

These are just a few P.O.V. films that highlight environmental concerns. If you're a community organizer or teacher interested in screening a film for your community, learn more about how you can borrow these and other environment-related films from P.O.V.

Arctic Son captures the dialogue between a father and son from vastly different worlds and gives glimpses of the changes wrought by global warming in the Arctic. Read an excerpt from New Yorker journalist Elizabeth Kolbert's book on global warming.

The Chances of the World Changing tells the story of Richard Ogusts, who shares his Manhattan loft with 1,200 turtles. Watch an interview with George Amato of the American Museum of Natural History, on turtle conservation, evolution and extinction.

The Fire Next Time follows a deeply divided group of Flathead Valley, Montana citizens caught in a web of conflicts in the country's running battle between the forces of economic development, environmental activism and anti-government extremism.

Libby, Montana is a small town nestled below the rugged peaks of the Rockies. It is also the site of the worst case of community-wide exposure to a toxic substance in U.S. history. Hundreds in Libby are sick or have already died from asbestos exposure.

Standing Silent Nation tells the story of the White Plume family, who planted industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Reservation after other crops had failed. Federal agents soon raided their fields because growing hemp is banned in the U.S. Find out more about hemp.

Thirst follows the tension over the privatization of water in Bolivia, India and California, revealing how water is becoming the catalyst for explosive community responses to the management of this precious resource. Read about the dynamics of water privatization.

Up the Yangtze explores lives transformed by the Three Gorges Dam, which is altering the landscape and the lives of people living along the fabled Yangtze River, submerging ancient villages and displacing the homes of 2 million people.

Think you know where you
stand on the issues? Then why not consider the other side?

Posts from the P.O.V. Blog tagged with "environment"

Doc Soup: Cinematic Poetry — This weekend, the documentary The Unforeseen will begin trickling into theaters. On the surface, it's about urban sprawl in Austin, Texas.....»Read more
posted by Tom Roston, 2/29/08